ARGUS sells FiberNet

ARGUS Capital Partners has sold FiberNet, a Hungarian cable television company, to Warburg Pincus for $72m including new funding to grow the business. The exit delivers an attractive return for ARGUS.

FiberNet was established in 1999 when ARGUS invested $12.5m in the company for a majority equity stake. Since then ARGUS has worked with FiberNet to complete numerous acquisitions and subsequently integrate, upgrade and expand the acquired networks. The company is now the largest independent cable TV operator in Hungary with 130,000 subscribers.

In the last year ARGUS has also successfully completed two leveraged recapitalisations of two of its portfolio companies, Svoboda, a commercial printer in the Czech Republic and Palace Cinemas, an operator of multiplex cinemas in the Czech Republic and has returned 30% of the monies invested in its fund to its limited partners.

FiberNet was ARGUS’ first cable television investment in Central and Eastern Europe. In March 2003 ARGUS invested in Aster City Cable, which provides cable television and Internet services in Poland.